Girl, 12, accused of torching mom's bed embraces her in court

December 01, 2006

PERU, Ind. (AP) -- A 12-year-old girl accused of setting her sleeping mother's bed on fire and driving away in the family car with her two younger siblings wept and embraced her mother during a hearing on juvenile charges of arson and attempted murder. The seventh-grader denied the allegations during Wednesday's hearing before Miami County Circuit Court Rosemary Higgins Burke, who set a Dec. 20 a fact-finding hearing -- the equivalent of a trial -- for the girl and ordered her to remain at a juvenile detention center. The girl is alleged to have set her mother's bed on fire early Monday morning because of a dispute over the number of chores she was given. Her mother told Indiana State Police investigators she awoke to find her bed on fire and then discovered her three children and car missing and called 911. A Miami County Sheriff's deputy contacted the girl on her mother's cell phone and persuaded her to stop the car containing her 6-year-old sister and 8-year-old brother. Police said the girl told officers a fabricated story that the three children were abducted and she was ordered to drive the car south toward Kokomo. The girl's attorney, J.D. Bolinger, said he will request that the girl undergo a psychological evaluation. Bolinger said he doesn't believe she should be locked up. "She is a 12-year-old girl," Bolinger said. "She is mixed up and very upset. She is distraught and wants to be with her family." Miami County Prosecutor Eric Huneryager said he expects the case to be resolved in December, but it will depend on the defense attorney. "The mom's interest in this is the same as ours: to get her whatever treatment she needs," Huneryager said.